Kiwis made an emphatic statement, says Bond

The one point gained – or lost, depending on which way you look at it – could prove decisive in the race for semifinal spots from Group A.

“From a New Zealand point of view, it was an excellent start to the tournament,” wrote former New Zealand pace bowler Shane Bond in his column for the ICC website. “I was very pleased with the way they took the game to Australia up front. Especially given that it was the first game of the tournament for both sides, it was important to make a statement, and I believe New Zealand made the more emphatic one. A couple of the Australian guys have not played for a while now, and when New Zealand came out all guns blazing, they were taken a little unawares.” 

Bond wrote he liked the approach New Zealand took, through Martin Guptill and Luke Ronchi. “On the evidence of the scores in the warm-up games, it is clear that if you don’t take the game straightaway to the opposition with your batting, you could be in big trouble.,” he said.

“Ronchi was pretty impressive with his strokeplay. It wasn’t that much of a surprise to me that he opened the innings, given Tom Latham’s injury and the way Luke had played in the warm-ups. He has opened for New Zealand in the past but hasn’t had the greatest success. Even so, with the wickets being as good as they are and with the scores racked up in the warmups, you would always back Luke to come up with the goods.” Bond explained.